PHE confirms measles outbreaks in five areas of England

Health officials are urging the public make sure they are up to date with MMR vaccinations after outbreaks of measles were confirmed in five areas of England.

As of January 9, there were 34 confirmed cases in West Yorkshire, 29 in Cheshire and Liverpool, 32 in the West Midlands, 20 in Surrey and seven in Greater Manchester, according to data released by Public Health England.

This follows on from data from December 19 showing 34 confirmed cases in West Yorkshire, 28 in Cheshire and Liverpool, 22 in the West Midlands, 11 in Surrey and four confirmed cases in Greater Manchester.

Children and young people who have not received two doses of MMR vaccine are at risk from contracting the highly infectious viral illness that, in some cases, can lead to serious complications, such as deafness, pneumonia and blindness.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of Immunisation at PHE, recently said the current outbreaks in England are linked to ongoing large outbreaks in Europe.

In September last year the World Health Organisation deemed that measles was eradicated in the UK for the first time, as the disease had not circulated around the country during the previous three years.

As the current outbreaks remain isolated the UK’s measles elimination status still stands, and the overall risk to the UK population is low, according to officials.